West Genesee season ends to Fairport, 1-0

West Genesee came into its state quarterfinal match against Fairport as the undefeated, No.1 team in the state of New York. But as soon as the game started, Fairport attacked at will and played staunch defense, leading to a 1-0 victory to upset the heavily-favored Wildcats.

West Genesee’s goalie, Henry Burns, kept his team in contention by recording 22 saves on 23 shots, with the only score coming on a power play.

“I knew that they were going to put a couple big guys on their front, so I was trying to look around them,” Burns said. “And I knew that they had a point guy who was going to shoot if he got the chance, so when he let it go, I caught it at the last second when it hit the post.”

Frank Colabufo, West Genesee’s head coach, said that even though his team beat Fairport 4-1 earlier this season, the Wildcats knew that this would be a hard-fought contest.

“Fairport comes to our tournament every December, and they are well-coached and very skilled,” Colabufo said. “We knew how good they were. Our goaltending . . . and defense was very good, and the difference was that powerplay goal.”

Fairport’s Cody Howatt took a centering pass in the Wildcat’s zone and passed it over to Pat Doud for the game-deciding wrist shot with two minutes left in the first period.

After that goal, the rest of the game was a defensive struggle. Fairport goalie Ethan Kaiser had 27 saves on the night and led a front that West Genesee could not break through.

“When you get to this level, everyone is good,” Colabufo said. “I thought we had some good looks and chances, but their goalie played well . . . and their defensemen made it hard for us.”

The West Genesee attack steadily improved throughout the game, cranking up its aggression with each period. Burns said that coming into the third period, his team realized that it would have to fight to save its season.

“We knew that our season depended on the last 15 minutes,” Burns said. “We weren’t going to mail it in and let them walk away with a win.

“We just tried our best, but . . . we just couldn’t solve them.”

The loss aside, Colabufo was quick to remind his team after the game that there was a lot to be proud of.

“I told them that there was no shame in what just happened,” Colabufo said. “They have won seven Section III titles in a row. They are champions, and they represented West Genesee as good as any team ever has.”

Fairport, the Section 4 champ, will go on to face Massena, the Section 10 champ, in the state semifinals next Saturday, March 8, at 12:30 p.m.